UMATILLA COUNTY-- Action News first brought you the story of Umatilla County's new drug trend. People are moving away from meth, and on to cocaine and heroin.

According to a new report released by the Oregon State Police, meth deaths are down, but heroin deaths are up.

That's good news for Stanfield resident Misty Winston. She knows the dangers of meth first hand. Not only was she a user, before she met her fiance, Michael Greer, he was injured and blinded when a meth lab blew up in his car.

"His dream and his goal was to get the story out, the story of what happens when people start using meth and drive, or when kids start using meth and they go astray from everything they believe in," said Winston.

She met Greer when he moved into the nursing home where she worked.

"I wanted to meet this person," she said. "I wanted to know this person that had his life almost ended."

She stopped using meth, they fell in love and got engaged. But they never made it to the alter. Greer passed away last November, one of 71 Oregonians who died from meth that year.

The good news is, meth related deaths decreased by 21 percent from the previous year, according to the study.

"That makes me feel wonderful," said Winston. "That's awesome."

The bad news is, heroin related deaths in Oregon are the highest they've been in seven years.

"It makes you feel like a new man," said Terry Baird, a recovering heroin addict in Pendleton. "But then there's the cost that goes with it. There's a reason they call it the black bitch. It's got a hold on you."

When asked how available the drug was in Umatilla County, Baird replied, "You want to take a walk for a block? We'll go score for you."

Baird says he knows 100 people in Umatilla County who have died from drugs, and "lately, it's heroin."

"Once that cycle starts, you're trapped emotionally, you're trapped spiritually and you're trapped physically," he said.

Although it's a constant struggle, both Winston and Baird are involved in Umatilla County's Drug Court program and are staying sober.

"All I can say is that I'm much better now," said Baird about his new lifestyle. "It's a lot easier, a lot less work, a lot less energy."

"I'm really, really trying to get my life together and it's an everyday struggle," said Winston. "But you just have to keep on with the keeping on."

Although they have cracked down hard, law enforcement and users say drugs have been a problem in Umatilla County because it's a main vein of interstate traffic, and because all the ingredients used to make meth are available in agricultural products.